Hello again dear friends, welcome back! I still can’t believe what we achieved last season, a fantastic treble that enriched Notts County‘s trophy room with some shiny silverware: the Premier League title, the Europa League and last but not least the FA Cup. The club has gained a respectable status in Europe but now we had to prepare for the future challenges, defending our title and also facing the tough teams in the Champions League.
First let’s take a look at the player stats, you can see them in the screen shot sorted by the average rating.
Our best performer was Brazilian striker Rafael Sobis, he banged in 32 goals in 38 appearances and I can say that the last month of the season would have been a lot easier with him on the pitch. He will recover from his injury before the start of the new season and I hope he will be a top player again.
Rafael Sobis
Belgian central midfielder Steven Defour was crucial for the team’s progress, he played no less than 55 games and made an incredible 23 assists! He is probably the best signing that I made last season, he came in for free and he surely deserves every penny that we pay him in wages and bonuses.
Steven Defour
Argentinian goalkeeper Sergio Romero was fantastic again, I don’t know how many points he earned with his miraculous saves but I reckon there were quite a few. He is one of the club’s most loyal players now and I hope he will stay here for a few more seasons.
Sergio Romero
Last but not least I have to acknowledge Simon Kjaer‘s contribution to tightening our defense, he is a reliable player and a leader that could bring even more honors to the club.
Simon Kjaer
Now let’s see where we need to strengthen the team in order to bring even more glory next season. The goalkeeper role is pretty much covered, Romero will probably perform well again while his backup, young Luis Guilherme, is showing good signs of progress. Gergely Varga was picked in the Premier League team of the season for the right back role, he is probably one of the best in Europe. I could use a better backup player for him but it’s not a priority.
The left back role is more of a problem, Joe Barton is great and he will be staying but I have no backup since I couldn’t make Dodo‘s move permanent. It’s very important to bring in another left back, I have my eyes set on Manchester United‘s Fabio but we’ll see if they’ll agree on a reasonable price tag.
Going further to the centre backs, Kjaer and Nordtveit team up well in the middle of the defense while Caceres is a reliable backup. Djourou is probably one of the worst transfers I’ve ever made, I paid 10 million pounds for him and he constantly failed to live up to that price tag. I will try to sell him but there is a problem as we only have 8 home grown players, Djourou included, so I have to focus on England for the transfers.
Moving on to the wingers, I have two wonderkids on the right flank, Hinshelwood and Bonetti, and two good players on the left, Agnaldo and Sneijder. The right flank seems a bit better than the left one in terms of quality and depth, so I think that a classy left winger could boost the team’s value. I am looking at Ashley Young from Aston Villa, he is a great left winger that can also play on the right flank but the price tag might be pretty steep as Aston Villa will surely be looking to keep such a good player.
We’re pretty well covered in the central midfielders zone, Biglia and Defour have been the key to our success while Thomson, Tinga and Smallwood did well when covering for the two. So I guess all five of them will be staying with us for at least one more season.
Our strikers are fantastic, Sobis and Guilherme produced 61 goals between them last season while Demba Ba and Moreno provided good backup whenever I needed them. Moreno had a few problems in adapting to life in England but now he announced me that those days are over, he is happy and looking forward to a new season. Sabrin Sburlea will probably be allowed to leave, he served the club well for a long time, he deserves a chance to play first team football elsewhere.
So I think that I have to bring in a left back and a left winger, those are the two main targets for the transfer window. I don’t know how much money I’ll have to spend but judging by how pleased the board is I hope for a tidy sum.
We have the youngest squad in the league but if I’ll have any money left after bringing in the two players I told you about I will look to spend all of it on under 20 or even under 18 players, I want to build a solid future for the club. That’s my analysis, I would be grateful if you would share your suggestions and correct me if some of my assumptions are wrong. Before closing the post I want to remind you that there’s another exciting challenge ahead of me, going to the World Cup with Uruguay! I hope to play that World Cup today and tell you everything about it tomorrow ;)
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Dan Monksfield
20 февраля, 2010 at 15:22
Rafael Sobis what a beast!! He has been ripping that net for you Johnny, Defour was a great bargain too, nice find picking him up for nothing.
I think you should be able to go through group stages in the Champions League, however you will have to rely on kind draws to progress far in my opinion, because your team is not quite as strong as some of the other top teams in Europe, that is just my opinion though and I hope you prove me wrong! Good luck for next season mate.
Kevin Mayo
20 февраля, 2010 at 15:44
Hi Johnny
I think you have a pretty good squad there but nonetheless I would go for Ashley Young and Fabio as both have amazing stats at least in my game. Keep Hinshelwood at all costs. He’s my favourite player on your team. I don’t really have any player suggestions as I’m looking at lesser players with my Swindon budget.
Good luck with Uruguay!
Martin
20 февраля, 2010 at 16:14
I Think Fabio Is Probably Too Good For A Backup Player By Now?
Maybe You Could Try Mevlut Erdinc If You Think Moreno Isn’t Good Enough, I Just Don’t Think He’s That Good!
Btw, I Got Promoted Via The PLay-Offs!
The Board Gave Me £55M (After Budget Adjustment) And About £900K Wage Budget!
So Far I’ve Signed Erdinc For £18M!
I Also Hope To Get Hoarau And Baines|(Who Is A Realistic Target) And Maybe Gago (Transfer Listed) And Some More.
Can’t Wait For Your Transfer New! :)
Johnny Karp
20 февраля, 2010 at 17:19
@Martin
Well done mate, 55 million pounds is an absolutely huge budget! Actually I think that Fabio is a bit better than my current left back, so if they’ll let him go for a decent price I’ll surely try to sign him.
@Kevin
Hinshelwood won’t go anywhere although there are lots of teams that want him. I don’t even care if he wants to leave or not, he will stay.
@Dan
I didn’t think that I could go all the way in the Europa League, I just wanted to qualify from the group stage. I guess I’ll have the same approach with the Champions League, get out of the group and then take it one game at a time.
Calum
20 февраля, 2010 at 18:16
A good analysis there Johnny. Fabio and Ashley Young would be good signings and I am looking forward to reading about who you buy.
Lye
20 февраля, 2010 at 18:37
Hi mate good analysis on your squad, i believe you have a pretty strong squad.So just a bit of fine tune should be fine, sorry don’t have any suggestion regarding the transfer but i believe your eye for scouting the right players should serve you well. I am patiently looking forward to your transfer news.
Johnny Karp
20 февраля, 2010 at 18:53
@Lye and Calum
Thanks for the comments, it will be a busy transfer window considering that I’ll be at the World Cup in June and July but I’ll try to manage Uruguay and look for transfers at the same time.
Sears
20 февраля, 2010 at 19:04
Hey Johnny. Yes Defour is a very good player. I alwaays try to buy him when I can.If you are looking for a good left winger I wouldd recommend Angel De Maria from Argintina. He shows great promise at the start of the game and is only 21. Also look at Michael Turner from sunderland,N.Otamendi of argintina,S.Kryvtsov of Ukraine or Omer Toprak for your center defence. You seem to have enough quality in the other postions. I can’t wait to see your post on transfer news!
Johnny Karp
20 февраля, 2010 at 19:23
@Sears
Thanks for all the recommendations mate. Unfortunately I have to pick home grown players for the reasons that I explained in the post, so Di Maria or Otamendi are not viable solutions at the moment although I admit that they are great players.
Sears
20 февраля, 2010 at 19:46
johnny, Yes sorry you were looking for homegrown player’s. James Milner is a fantastic plyer so are Ryan Shawcross,Gary Cahill and Aaron Lennon. Also i’v decicded to start a new game….With Luton Town.What do you think!And what do all the reader’s think.I feel I can bring them back to where they belong. The Premier League.
Johnny Karp
20 февраля, 2010 at 20:10
Good luck with Luton mate, looks like a very interesting and difficult challenge.
Martin
20 февраля, 2010 at 20:49
Yes Come Om Sears You Legend! Lol!
Sears
20 февраля, 2010 at 21:27
Shocking..5 games in..won 2,draw 2 and lost once..anyone i need a good tactic before my title charge totally collapses!
Sears
20 февраля, 2010 at 22:17
its ok.I decided not to save the game it after a good run of form.lower lower league football is not my thing!instead i will take charge of Shakter Doneskt from ukraine.i’v allready been them in the game and won two titles in my first 2 season’s so i hope i will be able to do that again and do better in europe!
Johnny Karp
20 февраля, 2010 at 22:33
@Sears
I’m sorry that didn’t go well but still, 2 wins and 2 draws out of the first 5 games is not too bad. Anyway, good luck in Ukraine!
Kevin Mayo
20 февраля, 2010 at 23:00
Hey Sears,
Johnny is right, that’s not a bad start. Just look how I’m doing with Swindon right now!
Sears
21 февраля, 2010 at 02:31
Johnny,thanks for your surrport.
Kevin,yes your doing very well!but who knows i may return to Luton,but right now my heart isn’t in it…
also i was wondering how to start a blog? not right now but in the future i might start one butfirst i need to gather information.
Johnny Karp
21 февраля, 2010 at 12:46
@Sears
My advice would be to try starting it on wordpress.com, it’s free and it’s a solid platform. The rest is about your passion and writing.
Kevin Mayo
21 февраля, 2010 at 13:18
Hi Sears
Sorry for my late response but I’m in Canada so I’m most likely several hours behind where you are. I started off at Blogger.com and not knowing anything about it just played around with my blog until I got things to work for me. Having said that I would go with Johnny’s advice and go to wordpress.com as he’s got way more experience at these type of things than me.A lot of it is trial and error until you find something you’re happy with. Good luck.
Sears
21 февраля, 2010 at 14:28
Johnny,Thanks for your advice.Checking it out now.
Kevin, Yes you are several hours behind because I live in Ireland!And yes I took Johnny’s advice and checked out wordpress.com.Thanks for your recommendations though.
TheZiggy
21 февраля, 2010 at 14:50
Good analysis of the squad. You’re in a great position where you can just concentrate on finding just a couple of players to strengthen the team. Will be interesting to see who you sign.
Johnny Karp
21 февраля, 2010 at 14:57
Thanks TheZiggy, I’ll post the transfer news later today if I’ll find the time or tomorrow.
Sears
21 февраля, 2010 at 16:35
Johnny,I’m currently trying to sign up and over an hour ago they said they will send me a e-mail in the next half hour.I am still waiting for the e-mail and i cannot wait much longer.Would it be ok to ‘X’ out of the site or would that mean I would have to sign up again or will I just wait for it to come?
Johnny Karp
21 февраля, 2010 at 16:38
@Sears
That email will probably come sooner or later. Make sure it didn’t get caught up in the spam filters. I guess I don’t understand the second part of your message but from what I can understand I can tell you that it’s OK to leave the website, you can log in later after you confirm the account via email or something like that.
Sears
21 февраля, 2010 at 18:25
Johnny,its ok it came.Thanks.